


The Forest of Lost Spirits

by PrinceCat



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Gen, Happy Ending, M/M, Spirits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 07:03:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8002927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceCat/pseuds/PrinceCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the edge of town, a forest as ancient as the land itself stands. It's been slated for demolition, to make way for the future (condos, a couple hotels, maybe even a casino), and now it's fallen to Sawamura Daichi, a young man in the employ of the land development firm, to venture into this forest, find its caretaker, a mysterious person who lives deep within the trees, and convince them to leave. But the forest holds a mystery Daichi can't help but become entangled in.</p><p>[folklore/magical realism au // daisuga // warnings: briefest hint of past child abuse]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Bad First Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for HQ Big Bang 2016!! I hope you enjoy!

Before we start the story, I must thank my lovely team for this Big Bang, my [beta ](http://museicaliteacup.tumblr.com/)and [artist](http://galestrike.tumblr.com/)! And please check out the beautiful accompanying art [here](http://galestrike.tumblr.com/post/150117074415)!!

 

* * *

 

 

Sawamura Daichi imagines he cuts a pretty ridiculous figure as he bicycles furiously to work one especially rainy Tuesday morning. His satchel strap has been shortened until the bag hangs under his chest like a baby sloth off its mother, and his suit pants are soaked to the knee, a result of speeding carelessly through puddles. He is late, for the first time in years, and the danger of bicycling in the rain is not calming his nerves. When he finally gets in, clothes dripping and blood pounding in his ears, he finds the latest in a long line of indistinguishable soulless managers sitting in his office. As if an adrenaline spike is something he needs right now on top of his racing heart.

"Ah... Sir?" Daichi hesitates in the doorway.

"Ah, Sawamura, you're here!"

"Oh, sorry I'm late sir, only with the rain-"

"It's fine, Sawamura," the manager waves him off. "Your track record speaks louder than the occasional tardiness. In fact, that's what I'm here to talk to you about. Take a seat."

Daichi hesitantly sits in his ergonomic office chair, keeping his eyes trained on the manager. He tries to ruffle his wet hair up into something more acceptable, but it remains plastered sadly across his forehead.

“We have a favour to ask of you. For the demolition of the Forest of Lost Spirits to go forward on schedule, it has to be uninhabited, at least by humans, by next Thursday. There’s a… caretaker living on the land, and the other two we’ve sent to order him to vacate.... well, they got lost in the forest. You’re a capable young man though, so now we’re asking you to deliver this paperwork to the caretaker, and explain the details, if he has any questions. Got it?” The manager places some papers on Daichi’s desk, his stubby thumb clumsily pressing an indent into the otherwise pristine forms.

“Right. Right…”

“Now I know it’s an unorthodox request, and one a little below your station, but it’d be a great favour that wouldn’t go unnoticed by the higher-ups.”

“Right, of course. Is there a specific time you want me to go? I only have two appointments today but-”

“Your clients have been taken over by the intern until you’ve finished with this assignment. We’d like you to go as soon as possible.”

“The intern? _Yachi_? Er, isn’t that a bit much for her, so suddenly?”

“She’ll be fine. Worry about your own assignment, Sawamura! Remember we’re counting on you to succeed where the other two have failed. Please leave as soon as you’re able.”

With that, the manager heaves himself out of the chair, shifting his belt clumsily, and saunters out of Daichi’s office. Daichi sits back in his chair with a sigh. His shirt, still wet, is now clinging uncomfortably to his back and arms, and he wiggles his toes sadly in his soaked socks. He considers asking Shimizu if he can borrow her emergency hair dryer, before he realizes that he might as well stop by his apartment for a change of clothes on his way to this mysterious cabin in the woods. So up he gets, brushing his chair off, as if that will dry it off at all, and slings his bag back over his shoulder where it hits his back with a wet squelch.

As he turns back to close his office door behind him, a small body slams into his chest.

“Ah! Oh dear! Oh, Sawamura-san!”

Yachi, the student intern, stands in front of Daichi, clutching binders and papers haphazardly in her arms, no doubt jostled, and a little damp, from the collision. She looks as frazzled as she always does.

“Oh, Yachi! Sorry-”

“No, no! It’s my fault, I wasn’t watching where I was going!” She looks Daichi over with concern on her face. “...Is it raining very much outside?”

“Oh, yeah, I'm afraid so. Look, I’m sorry if you run into any trouble taking on my clients while I’m doing this... thing. I’ll try to get it done as soon as possible, so don’t worry too much,” Daichi says, giving Yachi what he hopes is a reassuring smile.

“Really? I heard the other two who went…um...”

“What?”

Yachi leans closer, conspiratorially. “You're going to deliver the paperwork to the forest caretaker, right? Only, neither of them who went have come back to work yet… They got out of the forest! I mean, they weren’t lost in the forest for more than a day. But both of them came back with injuries, and they were really spooked. Ah! I don’t mean to scare you! I just mean, well, I'll be fine taking care of your clients I think, but you should be careful, okay?”

“Right… Right.”

Daichi knows Yachi hadn’t meant to scare him, but the entire bike ride to his apartment, his mind is filled with the thought that something truly dangerous could be lurking in the forest. It is no longer raining, but the streets are still riddled with puddles.

His mother, Sawamura Yuki, is sitting on his couch with books and papers littering the space around her when he unlocks his front door. Although technically it’s her couch too, and she uses it more than him. As a retired history teacher, she is free to spend her days poring over as many old, dusty books and maps as she can get her arthritic fingers on. Sometimes Daichi worries about his reputation, because he lives with his mother at his age. But he pays bills, he cooks, and does laundry just like she does! Neither of them liked living alone. And it's not like he would have much human interaction outside of work if he lived alone. The point is, it's nice to have company at the end of the day, even if it's the woman that once changed his diapers.

"I'm home," Daichi mutters as an afterthought, wrenching his shoes off his wet socked feet with a squelch.

“Did you lose your job?” his mother asks without looking up from the book she’s bent over.

“What? I could be a burglar, why do you assume it’s me after losing my job!”

“A burglar that mumbles "I'm home" when entering a foreign home with the same resigned tone my son uses? Unlikely.”

“He could be trying to fool you,” Daichi mumbles half-heartedly.

“Daichi. _Did_ you lose your job?”

“No! Honestly...”

Yuki finally lifts her head to look at him, eyes widening at his bedraggled state. Daichi is attempting to remove his wet socks from his cold, clammy feet while still retaining some of his dignity. Looking dignified while standing on one foot and wrestling with the other is a rather difficult thing to do.

“Daichi, you’re soaking wet.”

“Yeah, it was raining. I came to get a change of clothes before going.”

“Going where?”

“Oh, of course. Uh, the demolition of the Forest of Lost Spirits, right, that’s been all over the news? Well, there’s a caretaker that lives on that land, and I have to go give him… or her? this paperwork. No, I think the manager said “he”. Well, whoever they are, they obviously have to vacate before demolition can begin.”

“It’s tragic, really. That forest has been around since-”

“The Kofun Period, I know.”

She begins to shuffle through her papers in search of something. “It's probably been around a lot longer, but the first _human_ documentation is in the myth of the warriors Iwai-”

“Mum. Sorry, but you've told me this. I seriously- I need to get going. I’d like to find this cabin, hand over the documents, and be back _before_ it’s dark, okay?”

“Alright, alright. Don’t leave your wet clothes in the hamper, hang them on the balcony to dry.”

“Right.”

“Oh, Daichi?” Yuki calls him back, brandishing a newspaper. “This boy on the back, who’s missing, it’s recent right? We saw him on the television?”

Daichi shuffles over beside his mother, wet socks in hand, and wet feet sticking to the hardwood floor. He squints at the missing persons profile on the back of the newspaper, thinking briefly that maybe he should go to the optometrist to get his eyes tested. There’s a picture of a young boy, smiling widely with a mouth still full of baby teeth, and a little blond streak of hair falling across his forehead in a head of brown hair.

“Yeah, this was late last year. It was winter, so everyone assumed he wouldn’t last long… Geez, he was only four according to this. That’s rough.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to distract you. That poor boy. And his family too, not getting any closure. You go get changed. You should probably have a quick shower too, you’ve been in those wet clothes too long. Go on!”

Daichi spares the boy in the newspaper one last glance before tossing it onto the kitchen counter on his way to his bedroom.

Freshly showered, and in dry clothes, Daichi grabs his bag with the paperwork and heads back out the door. He bicycles significantly slower than he did this morning, not wanting to ruin yet another pair of slacks with rainwater. Thank goodness his bag is waterproof.

The Forest of Lost Spirits sprawls across the edge of town, to the north and west. Daichi bicycles all the way from the downtown area, through the suburbs with aging houses crowding in around each other, often dismounting to go up or down a steep hill. The road Daichi's on turns to dirt long before he reaches the forest's edge, and he winces, casting a glance down at his skinny little bicycle tires, not made for anything but asphalt or concrete. He stops at the forest's edge, almost a bodily reaction, with no interference from his brain, to look up at the trees looming before him, shrouding the road ahead in shadow. It feels like a threshold, to a different world, to a different time, as if setting foot in the forest will irreversibly change not only Daichi's life, but everything he knows. Daichi shakes off this odd bout of superstition, frowning at his rambling thoughts, and forges on ahead, into the forest.

It's not quite such a scary experience as it appeared at first, and the sunlight dappling the forest canopy creates a lovely muted light as Daichi bicycles along the path. There is a light breeze of fresh air, and birds chirp and sing in the distance. The leaves on the dirt path crinkle as the wheels of Daichi's bicycle run them over. A smaller, winding path branches off from the main path, and Daichi dismounts, slipping the directions out of the envelope in his shoulder bag. It looks like he's meant to take the smaller path, and Daichi once again feels a sense of trepidation. The larger path is light, wide, and seems well-used. The smaller path is hemmed in quite closely by trees, blocking the light even more, and the path is rocky and has roots cropping up here and there. Daichi thinks he's starting to see why the other two who came before him were so spooked by the forest, but he takes the smaller path nonetheless, wheeling his bicycle beside him with difficulty.

Daichi can no longer see the canopy far above him, the trees he's surrounded by twisting together only a couple feet above his head, making the path seem like some sort of ominous corridor. He can no longer hear the sweet little songbirds, an eerie silence hanging over him, as if he's prey being stalked by a predator. The roots under his feet almost trip him up several times, he's so busy glancing behind him, almost expecting to see an enormous beast slavering behind him. But no beast appears.

The caretaker's cabin is simple and unintimidating. Daichi exits the darkened hallway of trees to find a lit clearing, with an elevated cabin nestled on the far side. The cabin is made of a light, almost golden coloured wood, and it blends into the oranges and yellows of the leaves littering the forest floor. Daichi's fear melts at the cozy sight, and he walks across the clearing towards the cabin, no longer afraid of what he will find there.

Nobody's home. Daichi has left  his bicycle in the leaves at the bottom of the steps, and stands on the porch in front of the door, listening for movement inside. Not a creature stirs as he knocks again, and again. Of course. It had been too good to be true. So he waits. He waits for what seems like hours, glancing at his watch every so often, and collecting the nicest leaves he can find on the forest floor. He puts them on the porch in a row, for safekeeping. The air is still, and no wind disturbs his collection.

Finally, Daichi sighs, ruffles his hair irritably, and glances at his watch just one more time. He decides to come back the next day, grumbling under his breath as he turns to where he left his bike. But it isn't there. Daichi whirls around, thinking maybe he forgot exactly where he put it, dry leaves shuffling under his feet. His bike is gone, and the feeling of unease washes back over him, heavier and more urgent this time. He definitely would've seen if a person had come up and taken it. So an animal? It would have been big to have made off with his bike so quickly.

As he searches around the outside of the cabin, Daichi comes to another realization, one he should've come to much sooner. It had been raining, hard, all night, and all morning. Yet the cabin, and trees around him are bone dry, and the leaves at his feet crinkle loudly as he moves around in them. His little collection of leaves, all dry. Looking up, hoping for a justifiable reason, he finds that the tree cover definitely _isn’t_ dense enough to block out almost 24 hours of constant rain. And the sky is darkening. Double-checking his watch, he sees that it’s only two in the afternoon.

Probably just more rain clouds rolling in.

Instead of waiting for the caretaker to return, Daichi decides to try to get out of the forest himself. Alone. On foot. Maybe not his best plan, but it’s getting darker, and his heartbeat just won’t slow back down. He quickly realizes he can't find the odd little passage of trees that led him here. He paces the edge of the clearing, but can't find the path again. On edge, Daichi picks a direction and starts walking.

An hour and a half later, and he is no closer to finding his way out of the forest. It is very dark now, and Daichi starts to feel rain fall on him. Even the leaves under his feet start to dampen, losing their satisfying scuffling sounds.

There is no service on his phone, but luckily it’s at full battery.

The rain turns into a downpour, the canopy above providing absolutely no protection. The leaves at Daichi’s feet start becoming mud, wet and slippery, and he slips several times. At this point, he’s less worried about ruining his clothes, and more concerned with surviving the ordeal. The rain makes it difficult to see or hear his surroundings, and Daichi doesn’t know what kind of animals live in this forest.

Lightning flashes overhead, followed by the rumble of thunder. It comes fast and loud, and every other step Daichi takes is punctuated by a crash of thunder, and his vision comes and goes with each strike of lightning,  the trees around him seem to move in the bursts of eerie white-blue light. His hands and feet are wet and numb, and his arms and legs are shaking with adrenaline.

When Daichi sees a gap in the trees, he stumbles towards it, hoping he’s come to the edge of the forest. He slips, sliding down a muddy embankment into a tree-lined clearing. He sits in the dark for a moment, his mind foggy—and then he hears a strange muffled clatter through the rain. The sky lights up again, revealing the source of the noise. As the lightning crackles above, two stags are fighting across the clearing from Daichi, their antlers colliding with an angry crash. They retreat, and then smash together again. Daichi sits in awe, every battle of antlers accentuated by a flash of lightning, casting strange shadows against the trees. The rain begins to get lighter, but the thunder and lightning remain.

But he has to get moving again, so he slowly crouches, and then stands, not wanting to draw the attention of the stags. Suddenly, as he takes a step back, the ground writhes under him, and with a yell he stumbles away from the spot. The next bolt of lightning lights up a black snake slithering through the mud, which thankfully seems to have no intentions of biting him in revenge. Just as Daichi breathes a sigh of relief, he realizes that the glade is awfully still. The stags have stopped their sparring, and are both looking in his direction. Daichi freezes, pinned in place by the gazes of the two powerful animals, his pulse throbbing in his neck.

One begins to move towards him, the stouter, burlier one. Of course, it’s just Daichi’s luck that the other one follows. They look almost curious, but Daichi doesn’t want to take any chances. Herbivores or not, he has just witnessed first-hand exactly how dangerous the creatures in front of him can be. As they approach, he tries to subtly retreat, taking a step back for every advance they make, still facing them. But they’re still getting too close, too fast, so he tries to back up quicker, and finds himself slipping and landing hard in the mud once again.

The stags are almost upon him now, and it seems that flight is no longer an option, so Daichi snatches up a fallen branch beside him. Once it’s in his hand, they stop, observing him with glassy black eyes. Encouraged by this success, Daichi brandishes the stick at them, hoping to drive them away completely. The stockier one rushes him. The branch is struck out of his hands by the stag’s antlers, and the breath is knocked out of him as he is pinned to the forest floor by its weight.

As Daichi loses consciousness, his last thought is, “I can’t believe I’m gonna be killed by a deer.”


	2. The Forest Caretaker

The forest seems entirely different when Daichi wakes up.

It's bright, and what looks like an early morning light dapples the leaves of the canopy far above his head. There is a light humidity in the air, and the leaves he's sitting on are damp and sodden. Beside him, a little stream trickles through its muddy banks, and Daichi can hear bird song in the distance. He gets to his feet slowly, taking in the peaceful atmosphere of the forest around him, before remembering the encounter that rendered him unconscious in the first place, and he whips his head around, looking for the stags. There's not a creature in sight, and, for that matter, the area Daichi's in is unrecognizable. He doesn't remember how he got away from the stags, or how he managed to travel so far from the clearing. The only thing he remembers is a voice, as if from a dream, telling him to trust the forest. That as long as he does not try to hurt them, they will not harm him. Daichi assumes the "they" means the animals, or at least the stags. He knows that the stags at least weren't a dream, because his chest and shoulder are still sore from the encounter with them, and his wristwatch is broken, stopped at 3:53 pm.

With no other recourse, Daichi begins to move, walking in the direction he thinks is north. His phone is dead, even though it was at full battery earlier. But it's not like it would've done him much good anyway—he didn't have any service earlier either. He feels a certain sense of calm, as if he's still dreaming as he walks through the trees, leaves squelching in the mud beneath his feet. He follows the trickle of the creek, hoping that it will act as the red string leading him out of the labyrinth of the forest, and prevent him from getting lost amongst the trees.

Daichi doesn't know how long he's been walking, or how much distance he's covered when he encounters more of the forest's inhabitants. As he walks he scans the horizon, peering through the trees for any sign of a road, even a footpath, but what he catches sight of first, staring at him between the trees from a small clearing, is an enormous silver wolf. It's relaxing in the patchy sunlight, and its unearthly green eyes bore into Daichi. He stops in his tracks, and it feels like his heart stops too for a moment. The wolf appears to be alone, and something about its eyes makes it seem... almost human. It hasn't made a move to lunge at him, in fact it isn't even growling in warning. In the back of Daichi's mind, sensible Daichi is screaming at him to leave, break eye contact, run, or climb a tree, something! Anything but what he's doing: taking a tentative step towards the sunbathing wolf. The wolf seems... friendly. Daichi crouches, knowing that it will make him seem less threatening, although it also makes him more vulnerable if the wolf suddenly decides to attack him.

Crawling towards the wolf, Daichi feels a little unhinged, but continues until he reaches the edge of the clearing. He's about a metre away now, the wolf just out of arm's reach. Now that he is closer, he sees the odd size of the wolf clearly. It’s gangly, almost like a greyhound dog, but the snout, ears, and fur make it clear that it’s a wolf. Another thing he missed is the second creature, curled up tightly in a tiny little ball on top of the wolf's side. It's difficult to tell what kind of animal it is, small and yellow, but Daichi thinks it might be some sort of cat.

Before Daichi can reflect further on the smaller animal, the wolf lets out a low growl, a warning, and Daichi tears his eyes away from the little ball of yellow fur. The wolf doesn't seem too pleased with the way Daichi was eyeing his little friend.

"Sorry," Daichi says, his voice cutting through the silence of the forest in an odd, jarring way. "I promise I won’t hurt you, or whoever that is that you’re protecting. Are you going to attack me?"

The growling stops, and the wolf's mouth splits into a sort of grin, its tongue lolling out of its mouth, relaxed again. And here was Daichi, feeling ridiculous for trying to reason with a wild animal... yet it seems to have worked, and Daichi sits back on his haunches, feeling just as at ease. He almost has an urge to start a conversation. Ask the wolf its name, how its day was. Sensible Daichi finally gets his way and Daichi keeps his mouth shut. It's not like the wolf could reply anyways.

Before Daichi can get too comfortable, another animal makes its presence known by leaping into the glade between the wolf and Daichi. It's a scruffy black wildcat, bigger than a regular domestic cat, and Daichi falls back onto his behind, scuttling back a few feet in surprise. He fully expects a fight to break out between the wolf and the wildcat, but the wildcat just hisses at Daichi and prowls around the wolf, who is still lounging in the sun, although its ears are flattened back in unease now. The wildcat stops on the other side of the wolf from Daichi, and gives the small yellow creature a quick sniff, and then grooms its head with a few concentrated licks, waking it up. Daichi's fairly sure it's a cat now, or a kitten. It blinks slowly, looking displeased to have been woken up. The black wildcat growls at the wolf for a moment, and it almost looks, but maybe Daichi's personifying these animals too much, like the wildcat is reprimanding the wolf for talking to this strange human.

Daichi tries to inch forward again, but the wildcat quickly fixes him with a stare and lets out a loud yowl, startling Daichi and bringing reinforcements. Two more wildcats and another wolf enter the clearing, surrounding the silver wolf, still relaxing on its side. One of the wildcats, a striped one, starts hissing and spitting at Daichi, advancing towards him with alarming ferocity. The wildcat stops short of attacking him, and Daichi takes the opportunity to speak, not daring to tear his eyes away from the wildcat in front of him.

"I- I won’t, or rather, I’m not here to hurt any of you. I’m lost and I-"

Daichi is interrupted by a loud cawing noise, and a crow (although possibly a raven, Daichi's no expert) descends on the striped wildcat in front of him. The crow starts tearing at the wildcat with its feet, cawing and flapping its wings to stay out of the range on the wildcat's swiping paws, as it fights back against its feathered attacker. Horrified, Daichi wonders if he should intervene, or if that will only worsen the situation. He glances frantically around at the other wildcats and wolves, only to find them sitting and lounging in utter relaxation. They almost seem bored with the whole display. Aren't they going to help their friend?

Before Daichi can seriously consider wrangling with the squabbling animals, he catches sight of movement out of the corner of his eye. To his left, an enormous bear is moving through the trees. Feeling his breath catch in his throat, Daichi freezes, the scuffle between the crow and wildcat forgotten. He can pinpoint the moment the bear catches sight of him, because it freezes in its steps, just at the edge of the clearing. It seems nervous, and it shuffles on the spot, not advancing any further into the clearing. A cowardly bear? Like in the Wizard of Oz? No, that was a lion. Hopefully Daichi won’t see any lions today, cowardly or not.

The bear has a small animal clinging to its ear, like a squirrel or something. It's like a cartoon, little kittens and fuzzy squirrels being protected by their predators. Do bears eat squirrels? Daichi's pondering is quickly thrust aside when the rodent suddenly flings itself off the bear and towards Daichi, somehow taking flight and landing on his head. So, a flying squirrel. Daichi probably would’ve freaked out more about this dive-bombing, but the bear advanced slightly when the squirrel did, and he didn’t want that bear to think he’d hurt its friend the squirrel. Was it possible for a bear to look worried? That bear looked like it should be wringing its paws.

“I- I’m not going to hurt anyone, I repeat,” Daichi says, trying to calm the bear. The bear looks like it doesn’t trust him.

Maybe there are gases in the forest that he’s been breathing in, and this is all a vivid hallucination.

Daichi is pulled out of his thoughts by the squirrel on his head scrambling down onto his face. It’s about the length of his hand, maybe a little smaller, though he doesn’t dare bring his hand up to verify size. The squirrel lifts its head to chatter excitedly back at the bear, who shuffles and lets out a grumble. Daichi hopes the squirrel is reassuring the bear of his good nature, not giving him the go-ahead to attack. The bear seems pacified, however, and Daichi takes the opportunity to scan the clearing, which is becoming more crowded.

The wildcat and the crow have stopped fighting, and in fact look quite amicable now, the crow perched on the wildcat's back, both staring a Daichi, or at least the squirrel on his face. A few more wildcats have appeared, and there are some more small black animals shuffling around in the underbrush at the edge of the clearing. Through the trees, Daichi thinks he can see the shapes of the two stags from earlier. They’re all staring at him, although they occasionally turn to another and make quiet grumbles or chatters.

The squirrel on his face continues to relay information to the group at large, and looks up to the trees to chatter something, drawing Daichi’s attention skyward too. He spots an impressive couple of owls and a few smaller birds among the branches before a small bright orange bird descends on his face to join the squirrel, peeping away. So it was calling a friend. Great. Daichi tries not to be too grossed out by the dirty little paws on his face or the possibility of the bird pooping in his hair. Or fleas. Or—fuck—or rabies! There’s not human cure for rabies, right? Oh god, what if he gets rabies! No, no need to panic. None of these animals seem to be exhibiting any rabid symptoms. In fact, they seem almost self-aware.

In Daichi's hair, the bird and the squirrel seem to have settled down, and the two stags step into the clearing. They make no sound, but the taller one almost seems to address the assembly of animals, moving its head to look around at each one of them. Then, as a whole, the animals begin to move away, out of the clearing, and the silver wolf and scruffy black wildcat push Daichi onto his feet, to come with them.

As Daichi walks amongst the veritable menagerie of animals through the forest, he realizes the forest floor is dry once again, the bone-dry leaves shuffling under his feet. The air has lost the humid edge it had earlier, and it is as if no rain had fallen at all.

It feels so surreal, to be walking amongst the animals the way Daichi is. It's as if he's a Disney princess, communing with the animals, or a powerful spirit, at peace with the forest. Like a dream, but Daichi can smell, and feel just as well as if he is awake. The stag that addressed the animals earlier walks beside him, and Daichi feels its rough hide brushing his arm through his muddied shirt sleeve. It looks at him with deep brown eyes, and he hesitantly brings a hand up to its shoulder, feeling the muscle move under its skin as the stag walks forward. If this is a dream, it is unlike one Daichi has ever been in before.

Before too long, they come to another clearing. At first, Daichi thinks it is yet another unfamiliar clearing, but then he spots the caretaker's cabin, the same as it was when he first found it. They head towards it, and Daichi desperately hopes that the caretaker is there, mostly to have another human see the animals and verify that Daichi isn't dreaming, or high off forest gases.

When they get to the porch, Daichi sees that his leaf collection is gone, but the house, and the clearing at large, is still as dry as ever. The animals crowd up onto the porch, hanging off the railing and peering in the front window. An enormous white owl taps at the glass loudly and insistently, flapping its wings in excitement. The smaller black owl beside it nips the white owl sharply, and the larger owl settles down a little, leaving the stocky stag to knock one of its antlers against the door politely.

As they wait, Daichi looks around the gathered animals, watching them groom and preen themselves, as if preparing for inspection, or for a fancy dinner. The door is thrown open, revealing, finally, a person. Their light brown eyes are kind, and they look young, maybe the same age as Daichi, through their fluffy hair is pure silver. They are soft and round, and they seem welcoming. And not at all surprised about the assortment of animals on their front porch.

“Oh! You must be the caretaker,” Daichi manages to blurt out.

“Must I?” the person says, taking in Daichi’s muddy, bedraggled state. “You don’t look like a particularly lost spirit. Although you do look awfully bedraggled.”

“Your… your voice…” Daichi mumbles, too preoccupied to really take in what the stranger is saying. The voice from Daichi's dream earlier had sounded just like the caretaker's. Maybe he still is dreaming after all.

“What about my voice?” the caretaker asks, clearly amused.

Daichi shakes his hands hastily, trying to wave away his odd statement. “It’s nothing, sorry.”

“Why don’t you come in?" The caretaker steps aside, opening the door wide. "It’s tea time.”

Daichi enters the cabin in a dazed state. He glances warily around at the assorted animals now filling up the cabin. The birds fly around, finding perches in the rafters, and the large rodents and cats scramble up onto chairs and tables. There are pet beds lying on every available surface around the place, which are being claimed by the wolves. The bear, rather comedically, is trying to fit its rather large bottom into a small dog bed, decorated with bones and tennis balls. The scruffy black wildcat stares at Daichi rather intently from atop the biggest table. The small yellow kitten hangs from its mouth, also staring at Daichi, and Daichi begins to feel a little unhinged again.

“No, no, I’ve told you three a thousand times! Around the back! Your antlers won’t fit through the new front door.”

Daichi turns to see the caretaker having an argument with the two stags, and a moose. A _moose_. In any other situation, Daichi would have been concerned, but a moose being in Japan is probably the least of his worries. He doubts many of these animals are native to Japan, but he's long past questioning such things. The burlier stag, the one that knocked Daichi over, seems to accept the caretaker’s command, and moves to walk around the cabin. The other, taller stag, however, seems to consider it a challenge, and somehow maneuvers its antlers through the door.

The caretaker is clearly not impressed. “Oh very clever Tooru, thank you for scratching my doorframe yet again. And you!” he says, turning to the moose waiting outside. “Don’t get any funny ideas, Wakatoshi! You just follow Hajime ‘round back, you hear me?”

The moose does as it's told, but the stag inside seems unphased by the scolding, looking almost smug as it comes over to nose at Daichi's hair.

"What kind of tea do you want? I have all sorts," the caretaker asks Daichi, shooting a quick sour look at the stag beside him.

"Uh... green? Green tea? ...Please! And thank you." This whole situation is making Daichi forget his manners.

The caretaker smiles and walks into what Daichi assumes is the kitchen. The cabin is big, but the clutter of furniture and pet beds makes it seem smaller, cozy. Most of the furniture is made of the same golden orange wood as the walls of the cabin itself, which is a bit disorienting for Daichi, and he narrowly avoids smacking his hip off the table sitting by the window. There are dried flowers in vases and wrapped up into wreaths on the walls and on any surface not taken up by pet beds. The large white owl had already knocked a vase over upon flying in, and has since retreated up to one of the shadowy corners of the rafters in shame.

As the caretaker puts a kettle on to boil, the animals seem to socialize amongst themselves. Only the scruffy black wildcat and the stag are paying Daichi any attention anymore. The wildcat seems to not trust Daichi, the yellow kitten, now apparently asleep again, still hanging from its mouth. Daichi has not yet discerned the intent of the stag. The burlier stag and the moose have made it in through the back door, and are standing on the other side of the kitchen watching the caretaker prepare the tea.

With a firm push from the stag's head, Daichi stumbles into the kitchen. It almost feels like the stag is mothering him, trying to get him to socialize.

"Uh, my name is Sawamura Daichi, it's nice to meet you," Daichi says, stumbling over his words again. "You're the forest's caretaker, right? I'm supposed to have some paperwork for you, but I got lost in the forest, and lost it."

The caretaker says nothing, simply pours the boiling water into a teapot and turns to look at Daichi with an unreadable expression.

"Sorry," Daichi offers, "totally unprofessional, I know..."

"My name is Sugawara Koushi. You can call me Suga, for now, if you'd like. It's nice to meet you too, Sawamura Daichi. Please don't concern yourself with the paperwork, you look like you've been through quite the adventure," the caretaker, Suga, says, giving Daichi's muddied outfit a once over and smiling. "Would you like a bath? Or a change of clothes?"

"Oh, no, I don't want to impose. I should really get back to the city before my mother gets too worried about me."

Suga nods, his smile soft and understanding. "Of course. Drink your tea first, you should rest before you cycle back. Take a seat, if you can find somewhere to sit, I'll pour the tea."

The bear, still crammed comically into a tiny dog bed, grumbles, indicating the chair beside him with a paw. The flying squirrel and the crow are perched on the back of the chair, and make quite a ruckus in support, squeaking and cawing. Daichi smiles awkwardly at them, not sure if they would even understand the gesture, and sits on the chair hesitantly. The crow immediately hops onto his right shoulder, and begins gently pulling at Daichi's hair with its beak. Daichi can feel the squirrel scrambling up the back of his neck and on to the top of his head. It seems to like it up there. He tries not to move too much, in case he accidentally dislodges it and upsets everyone. Especially the bear. Daichi's trying not to think too much about the bear sitting docilely beside him.

Suga brings Daichi a cup of tea, green, like he asked, and sits across from him in another found chair.

"Thank you," Daichi says, before realizing something. "Wait, how did you know that I bicycled here? Or that I'm going to bicycle back? I lost my bike anyways."

"That bike?" Suga points to a bicycle leaning up against the cabin wall by the front door. It's Daichi's. Daichi is almost certain it was not there when he came in.

"How...?"

Suga shrugs, taking a sip of his tea. "I found it outside earlier, and I brought it inside in case the weather took a turn for the worse."

"Okay," Daichi says, although what Suga said hadn't sounded like the whole truth. It hadn't sounded even a little truthful. Everything he says sounds cryptic and mysterious, even if at face value it should be perfectly normal. Never mind the fact that the weather never seems to take a turn for the worse in this little glade.

Daichi hurriedly takes a swig of his tea, draining the cup, and sending the squirrel flying with a squeak to take refuge on the bear's head. The crow simply flaps its wings and caws loudly in Daichi's ear.

"I should get going." Daichi hands the cup back to Suga. "Thanks for the tea, and for finding my bike. I'll be back, so you can sign the paperwork. It was nice meeting you," Daichi runs through all the necessary pleasantries, suddenly wanting nothing more than to leave the forest and never return.

"You too. Good luck, I'll be seeing you soon."

"Goodbye," Daichi says, waving, and even managing a smile. No matter how odd and cryptic, Suga had still been welcoming and friendly. But Daichi still finds him suspicious, and leaves the cabin with even more questions than he entered it with.

Getting out of the forest is almost disappointingly easy. The way seems straightforward, and it makes Daichi feel foolish for even being afraid, for getting lost. The closer he gets to the city, the more it feels like everything in the forest had been nothing but a dream.


	3. The Myth of the Two Warriors

If Daichi thought he cut a ridiculous figure yesterday morning, it was nothing compared to the looks he's getting now. His shirt and slacks are caked with mud, his shirt is even torn in places. He's missing his shoulder bag, still.

By now he's come to grips with the fact that he was probably unconscious overnight. There is literally no other explanation. His mother must be terribly worried. It's already early evening by the time Daichi gets out of the suburbs and into the city, and he thinks that he must've stayed longer at the caretaker's place than he thought he had.

Surprisingly, Daichi doesn't feel ravenously hungry, which he should, considering he's had nothing but green tea since breakfast yesterday. He's a little hungry, but he's mostly tired. When his apartment building comes into sight, Daichi practically falls off his bicycle in relief.

Daichi's mother is in the same spot he left her in. Although that's hardly surprising, it's her favourite spot to sit in the apartment, Daichi had sort of thought she'd be a little worried about her only son, missing for over a day.

When she hears him taking his shoes off in the doorway, she doesn't look up from her books, but offers a quick, "Welcome home!" She must finish the paragraph she was reading, and finally decide to look up at Daichi's bedraggled state, her eyes widening in shock. "Daichi! You're covered in mud! Oh, your shirt's ruined too, the sleeve's all torn! Are you alright?"

Yuki gets up from her spot and makes her way over to fuss at Daichi's clothes. "Where's your bag?"

"I lost it," Daichi says irritably. He's been gone since yesterday, isn't she worried about _that_?

"Well, I suppose you're alright at least, that's good. You can tell me what happened after you have a shower. Another shower! Another outfit ruined! You're not having a good day today, are you Daichi?"

Daichi pauses, looking at his mother as she tries to usher him into the bathroom. He stops dead just inside the bathroom, facing her with a confused expression. "What do you mean _today_?"

"Did you hit your head Daichi?" Yuki asks, finally looking properly concerned. "Do you remember what happened this morning?"

"You mean I just left today? This morning?"

Yuki nods slowly, the crease between her eyebrows deepening in worry. "Yes... What did you think?"

"I... I don't know," Daichi says, making a split-second decision to keep the mysteries of the forest to himself. "I'm just really tired, sorry. I lost the paperwork along with my bag, so I didn't actually succeed, I'll probably have to go back. I'm just... Yeah, I'm just tired. I'll get into the shower now."

"Okay. Call if you need any help."

Daichi takes longer than usual in the shower, needing time to think, and also needing the extra time to scrub out any caked-on mud. He had been so sure that he had spent more than one day in the forest. Had he just convinced himself that it was so? Without any real evidence? Or is something more sinister going on? He thinks back to the caretaker, Sugawara Koushi, and the odd feeling he gave Daichi. All the animals... Behaving like they were domesticated, even like humans. Suddenly convinced of its importance, Daichi tries to remember the names Suga called the two stags, and the moose. He had been curious about them, if any of the other animals had names, or how Suga came up with the names, but he had forgotten to ask. It was Tooru, Hajime, and Waka... something. Tooru and Hajime... the names sound familiar, in a personal way, but he isn't close to anyone with either name.

Daichi racks his brain but he can't think of either name, so he resolves to ask his mother during dinner. Maybe the names belong to historical figures or something. That would make sense, as commonly known, or even uncommonly known historical figures, Suga might know of them to name the stags after.

When Daichi gets out of the shower, his mother is peering out of the kitchen, clearly finished with making dinner and impatient to serve it before the rice congeals in the rice-cooker. Daichi hurries to the table, dressed in his house clothes, with a towel draped over his damp hair.

They eat in silence for a while until Daichi brings up the names. “Hey… Mum? Do the names Tooru and Hajime mean anything to you? Especially in conjunction with each other?”

Yuki gives him an odd sort of look before replying. “I thought you would have- Well, I suppose I usually used their family names when I told you the story, but yes. Those are the given names of the warriors Iwaizumi and Oikawa. Iwaizumi Hajime and Oikawa Tooru. I thought you would remember them, I told you the story so many times. Honestly, I only did my doctoral paper on them." She lets an amused little smile cross her face. "What made you think of that?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“Ah, you used to love that story so much when you were younger. Made me tell you every chance you got, which of course, I was happy to do! I may have brainwashed you into liking it by telling you the story so many times," Yuki says, gesturing wildly with her chopsticks. "You were so appalled that none of your friends at school knew it, so you had to tell them yourself. I think you stopped talking to a boy once because he said didn’t like the story.”

“Is there any evidence that they were real people?” Daichi asks, chopsticks frozen halfway to his mouth.

“Oh yes, they certainly existed." Yuki puts her bowl down, balancing the chopsticks on the rim, fully immersed in the conversation. "It’s just that we don’t know how true the story is, which is why we call it a myth.”

“Could you tell me the story again?”

“Oh, feeling nostalgic Daichi? I’m surprised you don’t have it memorized.”

“I probably don’t remember all the details. I only remember my favourite parts, like when they escape the castle, cutting down every guard in their way,” Daichi says, swishing his chopsticks upwards, as if imitating a sword swing. He remembers how he would swing his umbrella around as a child, pretending to be one of the two great warriors as they fought for their lives to escape the lord's cruel tyranny!

Yuki shovels the rest of her rice into her mouth, eager to begin the story. "Iwaizumi Hajime and Oikawa Tooru were powerful warriors, in the employ of a powerful lord. It was said that together, they could take down entire armies, one hundred warriors each, as long as they fought together. Because of their skill, the lord they worked for grew to be known and feared throughout the land.

"They lived in peace—or as peacefully as one could in that era—until the lord decided it was time to find a husband for his daughter. She was his only child, most precious to him. He arranged for her to marry the son of another powerful lord, so that their neighbouring territories could become one, united in marriage. The lord was thrilled that he had set up such a worthy match, but when he brought the good news to his daughter, she refused to marry the other lord’s son. She even threatened to kill herself if he forced the marriage.

"The lord did not understand her refusal, until his wife came to him, telling him that their daughter had fallen in love with the warrior Oikawa, and that was the reason behind her refusal. She had been holding out a hope that the lowly warrior returned her affection. Enraged, the lord stormed to his daughter’s chambers, where she confessed everything. Because the lord loved his only daughter endlessly, he forced himself to accept the idea of his daughter marrying the young warrior. But he knew that going back on his agreement with the neighbouring lord would result in war between their castles.

"Though she admitted that the warrior Oikawa had never paid her much attention, the lord was sure that his daughter’s beauty and the prestige that would come with marrying her would make Oikawa accept the offer immediately. However, when the warrior Oikawa was presented with the idea, he firmly rejected it. It would have been quite the gutsy thing to reject an offer like that, especially to the lord's face.

"Unfortunately, word of the warrior's rejection quickly reached the lord's daughter, and she swiftly ended her own life, ashamed at the role she played in the war that was facing her father’s lands. At the news of his daughter’s death, the lord flew into a rage, blaming the warrior Oikawa not only for seducing his daughter and leading to her death, but also for the war-hungry lord whose son was rejected as a result of his daughter's infatuation. A quick-thinking and devious lord, he sent a messenger to the opposing lord, telling him of the developments, that the warrior Oikawa seduced his daughter, which caused her to reject his son.

"To placate the other lord, and his own temper, the lord of the castle offered to publicly execute the warrior Oikawa. The other lord was invited to visit and witness the execution. And he accepted, although his motives are unknown. He could have accepted the execution as an apology for the slight, or he could still have been planning to start a war, and knew that the execution of the warrior Oikawa would greatly weaken his opponent’s force.

"Too cowardly to face such a great warrior while he was awake, the lord ordered his guards to capture the warrior Oikawa while he slept. He woke up in the lord's cells, a prisoner, waiting for execution. As the castle prepared for the rival lord and his party to arrive, the warrior Iwaizumi learned of the planned execution. And so he went to his lord, to plead for the life of his fellow warrior. Desperate to prevent the execution, the warrior Iwaizumi even threatened to withdraw his services, which would have further crippled the force protecting the lord's castle. But the lord would not give in.

"On the day of the execution, all went according to plan, until the warrior Oikawa was standing before the crowd, on the raised platform for executions. Though the lord thought he had subjugated Iwaizumi once more, that was not the case. At the last moment, Iwaizumi leapt onto the platform from amongst the crowd, and fought off the executioner, and the guards, freeing Oikawa. Together, they fought off every guard and warrior the lord threw at them, trying to escape the castle. With their combined strength, they succeeded, and made it into the countryside. But they had no place to take shelter, or hide, nobody wanted to incur the wrath of the lord for harbouring the two warriors.

"They were hunted, warriors that were once comrades or respected rivals came after them, wanting to earn the money that had been placed on their heads, and the glory that would come with killing such powerful warriors. They were being pursued by such men when they took refuge in the Great Forest, which is the very same forest you were in today Daichi. There was a lot of superstition around it, and few people were ever brave enough to step foot in the forest back then. But with nowhere else to turn, the warriors Iwaizumi and Oikawa had nothing else to lose, I suppose, and took that risk. The men pursuing them did not dare to go in, so they eventually set up a perimeter, with men patrolling the edges of the forest. But Iwaizumi and Oikawa were never seen again."

Daichi and Yuki sit in silence, finishing their dinner, now cold, solemnly. Daichi doesn't remember the story being quite so depressing, but maybe as a kid he just remembered the cool bits, forgetting the suicide of the lovesick princess; the warriors desperate for shelter, being turned away from every household; or the terrifying anger of the lords.

But what did it have to do with the stags? Maybe Suga, the caretaker, has been a closet history nerd this whole time? He’d have to be pretty interested in it to not only know the obscure historical figures but to know their given names, which Daichi couldn't even remember, even though he'd been told the story more times than he can count. Was it just a coincidence that the warriors vanished into the very same forest? Once again, Daichi is left with more questions than answers.

The next morning, Daichi gets a call from the office. The voice of the same manager that greeted him in his office a few days ago crackles over the line. No. Not a couple days ago. It was yesterday. It throws Daichi off, and he almost misses the question the manager asks him.

"Did you get the papers signed?"

Daichi swallows, running a hand through his hair, as if looking more professional will help him in a telephone conversation. "I'm afraid not. I met the caretaker," Daichi insists quickly. "Unfortunately I lost my bag, with the papers in it. I was caught in some bad weather on my way to the caretaker's cabin. But like I said, I met him, and I'd like to return with another copy and get it signed."

The manager laughs. "There's no need to convince me so forcefully, Sawamura! You got further than the other two at least, and if you're willing to go back into that place, that's definitely a victory in my books." The laughter leaves his voice, and he heaves a sigh. "However, I have some bad news. The forest demolition date has been pushed back, by a month. A month! Some bleeding-hearts have made a petition, or appeal, or something, to save the forest. Our solicitors think they can overturn it in under a month, but the whole process has been pushed back as a result."

It sounds like this manager has been complaining about this to anyone who will listen, and Daichi narrowly avoids letting out a sigh of his own, suppressing it at the last minute.

"So the papers from the caretaker are less urgently needed now, obviously," the manager continues, "but get them as soon as possible, so you can get back to work. The student intern is... struggling."

"Oh, I could-"

"No, no. This is your priority. Get it done."

Then the manager hangs up on Daichi, leaving Daichi to wonder how such a rude person gets paid more than him.

After a moment of pondering, Daichi stands, a thrill of motivation running through him. He wants to go to the forest again. There's a mystery to solve, he just knows it. He wants to figure out what's going on, he wants to see the animals, meet them. And he wants to see Suga again.


	4. A Clue to the Mystery

When Daichi heads into the Forest of Lost Spirits for a second time, he doesn't wear his nice clothes. He's already ruined one shirt and two pairs of slacks, so this time he's wearing his old painting clothes, jeans, and a tatty old plaid shirt. They're from back when he thought he wanted to be an artist. Even went to two years of art school, but eventually the real world caught up to him. The jeans are a little snug, and he hopes that's just due to muscle gain.

The office had faxed him the documents, and Daichi's bringing them along just in case. He's well into the suburbs by the time he realizes that the documents, his initial motivation for going into the forest, are now simply a secondary reason. Well, it's not like his job, or playing a part in the destruction of an ancient forest, is particularly thrilling. But the call of a mystery to be solved... What isn't thrilling about that?

Daichi doesn't even stop this time, at the edge of the forest, just cycles right in, feeling like he knows what to expect this time. Along with the documents, he's brought a compass, water bottle, some snacks. He's prepared to get lost, and this time he's not making the mistake of taking his bag off.

The creepy little passageway is gone. Instead, the first divergence from the main path is simply a smaller path, as brightly lit and well-maintained as the main path. No dark trees crowd around the edges, no gnarled roots curl up from the ground. Daichi gets off his bicycle and regards the new path with more suspicion than he did the first. He could have sworn that path wasn't there before... Had he missed the creepy path?

Before Daichi can decide on the best course of action, he feels something land on his head. His initial reaction is horror, because god knows what it is. The thing starts to move, ruling out the possibility of it being an enormous glob of bird poop, and soon enough, a little head pops over Daichi's forehead to look his in the eye. It's the flying squirrel. It almost seems happy to see him.

"Oh, hey buddy." Daichi smiles, partly in greeting, partly in relief, before peering around, looking for the bear, or even the crow. But the squirrel seems to be alone.

It begins to pull on his hair a bit, as if trying to steer him forward.

"Oh, you think I should go down this path then?" Daichi asks, his voice seeming obtrusive in the quiet forest.

The squirrel squeaks enthusiastically, and Daichi wonders, not for the first time, if the animals here really understand what he's saying. Either way, the squirrel hasn't proved to be untrustworthy, so Daichi forges on ahead, taking the nice little side path, wheeling his bicycle alongside him.

And sure enough, they arrive in the clearing with the caretaker's cabin, looking the same as ever, sitting snugly amongst the trees at the other end of the clearing. Daichi wishes he could pet the squirrel in thanks, but doesn’t know if that would be crossing a line. Really, he wants to pet every animal he has met in the forest, because really, who wouldn't? They seem so friendly, like they wouldn't object to it the way wild animals should.

Suga is sweeping up on the front porch, and raises a hand to wave to Daichi when he catches sight of him. "Welcome back," he calls out across the clearing.

The squirrel begins urging Daichi forward again, so he makes his way across the clearing to stand at the bottom of the porch steps. "Hi," Daichi says, waving awkwardly.

"Why don't you leave your bicycle on the porch this time?" Suga stops sweeping and gestures to a spot on the porch. "Less likely to get lost that way, I think."

"Thanks." Daichi climbs the stairs and places his bicycle up against the side of the cabin, where Suga had indicated.

Suga smiles, first at Daichi, and then at the squirrel on top of his head. "I see Yuu found you. He was worried you might get turned around again. So what brings you back to us so soon?"

"Well, I was actually wondering about the animals, the ones that I met yesterday. I was wondering if you could introduce me to them?" Daichi asks hesitantly. It's a weird request, but hopefully in light of _everything_ being weird here, it won't be quite so weird in comparison.

"Oh, of course," Suga replies, smiling brighter than ever, before calling out at the trees, "Koutarou! Keiji!"

The enormous white owl and its smaller black friend swoop down to perch on the porch railing. "Could you two round everyone up? Sawamura-san has come back to visit with us," Suga tells them, and they fly off, presumably to do as he asked.

Suga then ushers Daichi inside, with another offer of tea. Playing it safe, Daichi asks for green tea again. Slowly, animals start arriving, through the back and front doors, and some through open windows. They find themselves places to sit around the cabin, like they had last time.

Daichi and Suga quickly snag a couple chairs before every surface can be taken up, and Suga has served them tea before everyone arrives.

"I'm just going to close the front door, in case Tooru gets any more funny ideas," Suga says, putting his tea on his chair and making his way across the cabin to close the front door. Daichi notices that there aren't any locks on the door.

When Suga retrieves his tea and sits back down, Daichi speaks. "I was actually wondering about the two stags... Tooru and Hajime, right? Are they named after the warriors from the myth? Do you know them, the warriors Oikawa and Iwaizumi?"

"Oh, I know them quite well," Suga says, his words and smile are cryptic, once again it seems like he isn't telling Daichi the whole truth. Daichi leaves it there, although his question hasn't really been answered.

Finally the moose and the two stags appear, fitting their antlers through the wider doorframe of the back door with ease. Last to arrive is a bunch of crows, four of them this time. One of them, Daichi suspects the one he met yesterday, comes to sit on his shoulder and caw loudly in his ear. It was just as excitable and loud yesterday, and Daichi winces. At least the squirrel seems happy to see the crow.

"That's everyone I think," Suga says, standing. "Sawamura-san wanted to be introduced to all of you."

Daichi nods, smiling nervously around at the gathered animals. He quickly fishes out a notebook and pencil from his bag, ready to write down the names. The names must be the key to the mystery, and there's no way he's going to be able to remember them all himself. He quickly jots down "stags – Hajime, Tooru; squirrel – Yuu", and looks up at Suga, ready for the rest.

"So you already know Tooru, and Hajime's names." Suga turns to face Daichi, gesturing to the two stags. "This big guy is Wakatoshi," Suga says, patting the moose's leg.

And so Suga goes through all the animals, pausing only when Daichi asks which kanji to use. Daichi's impressed that Suga can remember all the names. Or tell them apart. If he's being honest, the crows all look the same to Daichi.

Daichi stays much longer this time, even eating lunch with Suga. He's a lot easier to talk to when Daichi doesn't ask him about the weird things going on, and he doesn't spout cryptic nonsense in response. They talk about the animals, and Suga tells Daichi funny stories about them. Sometimes, the animals that star in the story seem to react, either trying to stop Suga from telling it, or look somehow embarrassed.

A lot of the animals clearly want to know Daichi better too, as there is squabbling over who gets to sit on his lap or shoulders. Yuu's spot on his head is undisputed, which Daichi is glad of, the squirrel being so light. The little black owl, Keiji, is trying to groom Daichi from one of his shoulders, and Tooru is resting his head on Daichi's lap when Daichi realizes it's getting dark out.

"Oh! I should probably get going," Daichi says, turning back to Suga. "It's getting dark out."

Suga turns to look out the window behind him. "So it is. Well, if you must. Wouldn't want you getting lost in the forest forever, would we?"

"Uh, no..." Daichi tries to lift Tooru's head off his lap, avoiding getting tangled in his antlers. The stag is being purposefully difficult, and not moving until the other stag, Hajime, smacks him in the shoulder with one of his antlers. Tooru lifts his head then, to look at Hajime, almost looking offended. Daichi takes the chance to stand up, and Keiji gives his hair one last tug before flying to sit on Suga's shoulder instead.

"It was nice to be introduced to all of you," Daichi says, bowing slightly at the animals. "I enjoyed my time here. Perhaps I can visit again sometime?"

"Of course!" Suga says, standing up himself. He shows Daichi over to the door, and he and the animals stand on the porch while Daichi retrieves his bicycle.

Daichi descends the steps, and turns around to say goodbye, but Suga interrupts him, his voice serious and authoritative in a way Daichi hasn't heard before. "Yuu."

Daichi realizes the squirrel is sting clinging to his hair. Suga isn't speaking to him though, it almost sounded like he was reprimanding the squirrel for something. Slowly, Yuu crawls down the side of Daichi's head, onto his shoulder, and down his outstretched arm. Yuu rubs his furry cheek against the palm of Daichi's hand, before leaping off and swooping over to the porch, to sit among the crows.

Thrown off by the odd moment, Daichi waves silently, and turns to leave.

As Daichi gets closer to the edge of the forest, it gets lighter, and when he's well into the suburbs, he finally checks his watch, an old ugly thing he dug out to replace his broken one. The watch says it's 7:46 am, and that it's Thursday. Daichi frowns at his watch. It's Wednesday, and there's no way it could be 7:46 am. The watch must be broken or something, he had set it to the right time before he left this morning. When he reaches for his bag to check his cell for the time, he realizes he forgot to get the paperwork signed. He hadn't even brought it up. Idiot!

Next time, he'll get it done. For now, Daichi resumes his cycling, making his way home. His mind is full of the names on his list, racking his brain for familiar ones. Many of them are fairly common, but he's sure he can uncover something important about the forest now that he knows them. Daichi feels a burning sense of motivation to get to the investigation already, enlivened by the mystery of it all. He hasn't felt this excited about something in months.

When Daichi finally gets home, his mother is not in her usual place. He takes his shoes off and moves through the apartment quietly, until he hears her raised voice in the kitchen. She's one the phone, gesticulating wildly and getting all tangled up in the phone cord. She falls silent when he appears in the doorway.

"Never mind, he just walked in," Yuki says into the receiver, pauses for a response, and continues. "I'll call you later, thanks."

Then she jams the receiver back down into its cradle, giving Daichi an incredulous look. "Where have you _been_? I would've reported you missed if the bloody police allowed it! Although I suppose they had a point about waiting a day since you're here now... But honestly Daichi! I was worried sick! You don't even look very banged up this time..."

"Mum, _mum_ , what are you talking about?" Daichi asks, holding onto his mother's shoulders to reassure her.

"Your note said you were just going back into the forest, not spending the night there!"

"I didn't-" Daichi cuts himself off, looking at his watch again, and glancing at the clock on the kitchen wall. They're the same. He scrabbles to get his phone out of his bag. Besides the seven messages and twenty-seven missed calls from his mother, it tells him the same thing his shitty old watch does. It's Thursday morning. Somehow, he spent all day and all night at Suga's. But... it just isn't possible. He didn't sleep, and he isn't tired. There's no way he spent that much time there. He only had one meal, two cups of tea.

"Sorry," he finally says, another lie. "There was no reception, and left it too late to leave. I didn't want to bicycle all the way back in the dark."

Yuki chews him out a little more, before letting him retreat to his room when he claims to be tired.

It's time to admit, Daichi thinks, that there's something unnatural, something _supernatural_ going on. Every time he goes into the forest, time gets twisted around. Almost as if time behaves differently in the forest. He fishes the notebook out of his bag, and flips to the page with the list of names.

Suddenly, a thought enters Daichi's mind, and he leaps up from his bed, dashing into the front room.

"Mum? Do you have that newspaper from Tuesday?" Daichi asks, clutching the notebook in one hand.

Yuki looks at him with some concern, replying, "Of course, it's in the pile." She points to the corner of the front room where she hoards the daily newspapers.

It takes a moment of rifling for Daichi to find Tuesday's newspaper, but he manages to pull it out from the stack, flipping it over to look at the back page. The missing persons profile is still there, the little boy still smiling out at the world from the inky newspaper pages. The kid's name was Nishinoya Yuu, according to the newspaper, and Daichi doesn't even have to check his notes to make the connection to the little flying squirrel from the forest. Daichi reads the short blurb about the disappearance. The Nishinoya family lived in the suburbs Daichi bicycles through to get to the forest, and the boy was last seen playing in the snow, at the forest's edge.

Just like the warriors, the missing boy has a connection to the forest. It was the last place they were seen alive. Unless Suga has some really morbid ideas when it comes to naming the animals, it can't be a coincidence.

Too hyped up to even pretend to be tired anymore, Daichi jumps to his feet, newspaper and notebook in hand, and hurries to get his bag.

"Where are you off to?" Yuki asks as Daichi passes her again on his way out.

"Just the library," Daichi answers, jamming his feet into his shoes. "Can I borrow this paper?"

"Of course. Will you be home for lunch? Dinner?"

"Dinner yes, I don't know about lunch. I'll let you know, I've got my cell," Daichi calls as he goes out the door. "Bye!"

Daichi bicycles to the library as quickly as he can, not wanting to lose his fervour. He starts with the machines to look at old newspapers, asking the librarian attending them for anything concerning missing persons. He's not expecting to find much, the first three could be coincidences after all.

Boy, was he wrong.

Name after name crops up in the newspapers, spanning years, ages, professions, everything. The one connection is the forest. Daichi ends up wishing he had left more room in his notebook for extra notes beneath each name, the page becoming crowded and messy with each discovery. A few names crop up with no obvious connection to the forest, and a good number of names don't crop up at all. Perhaps they're older, before newspapers, like Tooru and Hajime.

Ryuunosuke, one of the crows, is a runaway teen from six years ago. Tetsurou, the scruffy black wildcat was a suspect in a kidnapping over twenty years ago, specifically the kidnapping of one Kozume Kenma. The small yellow kitten from the forest is also called Kenma. Asahi, the bear, went missing after his house burnt down, killing his parents, fourteen years ago.

Daichi isn't sure when he started thinking of the missing person and the animal from the forest as the same being. But wouldn't that be the logical conclusion? Leaning back in his chair, Daichi stares at the screen in front of him, showing the earliest match, a kid named Akira, the snake Daichi had trod on, who had never come home from making vegetable deliveries.

Considering the wonky time, it's reasonable to assume there's magic in the forest. Could that same magic be turning people who set foot into the forest into animals? No, that's stupid. Daichi is fine. And Suga is human, he lives there year-round. So what is it?

The librarian is giving him an odd look, so Daichi decides to call it a day. There's not much more he can do in terms of finding missing persons reports before newspapers existed. So he thanks the librarian and makes his way home, thinking of theories to explain everything he's found.

Before he goes to bed, Daichi decides that he should confront Suga, armed with this new evidence, and ask him for the truth.

He needs to get those papers signed anyways.


	5. The Truth, and a Separation

The next morning, Daichi finally remembers what it means to have Suga sign the papers. He was about to put them in his bag again when he realized. In all the excitement, he had forgotten the hand he's playing in the forest's destruction. Never mind if Suga leaves, what about the animals? They aren't going to be evacuated, are they? Daichi had never thought about what would happen to them, losing their home like that. And if the forest is as magical as he thinks, wouldn't that make the tragedy twice as terrible? He stands staring at the forms for the forest caretaker until his mother calls him for breakfast.

"Mum?"

"Yes?" Yuki answers, looking up from her breakfast.

Daichi licks his lips nervously before taking the plunge. "What would you say... if I told you I was thinking of quitting my job?"

"Well," she starts, before pausing to actually think about it. She doesn't look very angry at all. "To be honest Daichi, I don't think it's a terrible idea. The sales of my latest book are doing quite well, so we're fine financially. I know you aren't exactly... happy there. And I can't say you working for a soulless land development firm makes me very happy either."

Daichi nods solemnly. He hadn't _actually_ been thinking about quitting before this morning. But the excitement he feels at solving the mystery, and just at spending time with Suga and the others, makes Daichi realize how bland his life was before, how joyless. Not to mention suddenly growing a conscience.

"Have you already given notice?"

"No, I wanted to ask you your opinion first."

"Have you thought about what you want to do?" Yuki smiles, half-joking as she says, "Maybe you want to give art school another try?"

Daichi makes a sour face. "I wasn't really thinking of going back to school, no. Although, I wouldn't mind trying my hand at sketching again. I remember enjoying it."

"You were quite good," Yuki says, her smile soft and nostalgic. "Don't you remember, when you were still in school, you did the illustrations for the republication of my thesis. My old supervisor loved them."

"That was the thing on Haj- er, rather, Iwaizumi and Oikawa, right?"

"Yes, that _thing_ ," Yuki replies, an exaggerated frown on her face.

"Sorry." Daichi grins. "Do you have a copy I could borrow?"

"I have _seven_."

So Daichi sets off, back to the forest, with a copy of his mother's book, along with his own notes, and one of his old sketchpads. He pointedly leaves the paperwork at home. Before he leaves, he tells his mother not to worry if he's not home tonight, and that he'll try to call her when he gets reception again on his way home. He hasn't given notice at work yet. It's not that he's going to chicken out, he just needs to work up the courage.

The old sketchbook is covered in coffee stains and charcoal smears, but it's half empty. Daichi figures that if he wants to get back into sketching, the animals of the forest would be excellent subjects. He gave his mother's book, "Guardians of the Temple", a flip through before he left, and realized that there's a lot more to the mythos of the two warriors than his mother told him in her story. Of course, that makes sense; the warriors had a great and powerful reputation in the story, the kind you don't get by doing nothing.

Daichi feels like a different person, and he wonders if the people that glance at him on the street can tell.

When he gets to the clearing with Suga's cabin in it, Daichi realizes another odd thing about the forest. Or at least, this clearing. It's clearly autumn. The leaves are vibrant yellows and oranges, and the forest floor is covered with a thick layer of them. But it's not autumn. It's early spring. How had he not noticed it before?

The four crows are sitting in a row on the porch railing when Daichi arrives at the cabin. Daichi quickly fishes his notebook out. "Hi! It's er, it's Ryuunosuke, Chikara, Hisashi, and... Kazuhito, right?"

They all caw enthusiastically, although one much more loudly and boisterously than the others.

"Let me tell you guys, I gain no pleasure from referring to you so informally, I'm just kind of at a loss for how to address you politely," Daichi says.

The cabin door opens, revealing Suga, and Daichi feels a little ridiculous, and embarrassed, for trying to hold a conversation with a bunch of crows.

"They don't mind," Suga says, smiling kindly. "Their family names don't hold any significance or meaning to them now."

Suga gestures to a pair of chairs on the porch, so Daichi climbs the steps onto the porch, and sits down, stuffing his notebook back into his bag. "I was wondering if I could sketch some of them. The animals, I mean."

"Oh!" Suga's eyes light up with interest. "I never knew you were an artist, Sawamura-san!"

"I haven't been an artist for a while now. And... and you can call me Daichi, if you'd like." Daichi tries to keep a wince off his face. That was probably way too forward.

Suga sits back, a contemplative look on his face. "I don't think anyone ever _stops_ being an artist you know. Daichi-san. You can call me Koushi if _you_ would like. Although I think you've avoided calling me anything at all so far."

"Have I?" Daichi says guiltily. He hadn't realized he had been so obvious about it.

To avoid any further questioning, Daichi whips out his sketchbook, an old tactic he learned in art school. The crows seem quite happy to be drawn, a couple even seem to be posing for him as he sketches. When he's drawn his fill of them, Yuu has shown up, and Daichi decides it's time for the truth.

"I have a question," Daichi says, turning to Suga. "Who are these animals? Most of them share names with missing people. Tooru and Hajime, are they really the warriors, or are they simply named after them? Is the forest magic?"

They sit in silence, and Daichi desperately wonders what Suga is thinking. Finally, he speaks.

"That _would_ be an awfully big coincidence, wouldn't it? You see, this is the Forest of Lost Spirits. Everyone you've met, they aren't like the animals from your world. They're spirits. Lost ones."

"What do you mean lost? How did the forest turn them into animals? Why didn't it happen to you or me?" Daichi asks after a pause.

"May I see the list you've made?"

Daichi pulls his notebook back out and hands it over eagerly.

"Each of these spirits sought refuge in the Forest, when they were just simple humans. They were taken in, and protected, because they had nowhere else to go."

"All of them? I get Tooru and Hajime, which, by the way, is amazing that I'm meeting them?? Met them? In deer form or not, holy shit! Sorry, excuse my language. I like, idolized them when I was a kid... What was I saying?" Daichi trails off before remembering. "Most of them were just kids, they had their parents, and family and stuff, didn't they?"

Suga's face grows sad, and he trails a finger down the list absent-mindedly. "It's easy for you to say such a thing. When I first saw you, I could tell you were not lost. Not completely. You still have a home, a mother who loves and supports you. Not everyone is so lucky, to have parents like your mother, or a home like yours, Daichi-san."

"Oh..." Daichi feels like an idiot. Of course. "But what about-" he glances at Yuu, balancing on the back of one of the crows, "What about Yuu? He was only four..."

Suga simply looks at him, and Daichi knows.

"Ugh. Four years old. Who the hell treats an _infant_ that terribly? I can't believe I felt sympathy for his parents when I saw the story in the news."

They sit in silence again, a crushing, depressing silence, until Suga leans over and whispers, "I'm sure it would cheer Yuu up if you drew him."

"Right," Daichi says, and settles down to draw again.

Suga's right, of course—Yuu squeaks with joy and paws enthusiastically at his own portrait when Daichi's finished. More animals—spirits—show up, and Daichi draws them too, even though his hand is starting to cramp, and he's quickly running out of pencil lead. But he'd feel guilty if he left anyone out.

While Hajime is being sketched, Tooru takes it upon himself to rummage through Daichi's bag, sticking as much of his nose in as possible, as if he can smell something about him inside. True to form, he pulls out Daichi's mother's book and deposits it in Suga's lap.

"Oh! It's about you two! Sawamura Yuki, Daichi-san, is that your... wife?" Suga asks, tone teasing.

"Ha! That's my _mum_ , thanks," Daichi replies. "She did her doctoral paper on the warriors Iwaizumi and Oikawa. That's it, the second edition, anyways. The, uh, the illustrations are mine."

"Oh, how exciting, let's see then," Suga says, flipping through the book until he finds a picture. "Hmm... not bad. Hajime's pretty close, but I'm afraid Tooru looks nothing like this. Oh well, maybe you'll get to draw the real thing someday."

"You think?"

"I do."

By the time Daichi leaves, he's drawn every spirit, even Suga. He's a little rusty, but just the act of sketching made him feel better. And now, he knows the truth. It wasn't such a big revelation as he expected, more of a gentle realization, being let in on a secret bigger than he is.

The next day, he goes into the office, gives notice, and takes all the personal belongings out of his office. He's still expected to be in for two more weeks, but there's no harm in being proactive. He tells Yachi and Kiyoko, the only two people he knows properly in the office, and helps Yachi with his clients that have been foisted off onto her. It's not like he can get in trouble for wrapping up loose ends. He isn't sure how he's going to explain the lack of signed papers, or his lack of motivation to get them signed at all.

At the end of the day, he's just stepping out of his office, box of possessions in hand when one of the managers catches him in the hall. It's the one that keeps hounding him about the papers for the forest caretaker. Daichi's about to offer his excuses, but the manager speaks first.

"I heard about your resignation, Sawamura! That's too bad, you were a real asset to the firm," the manager says, clapping Daichi on the shoulder, hard. "Anyways, I just wanted to thank you for your help with the forest caretaker! He came in today, signed the paperwork. Said he'd been packed and ready to leave that place for weeks!"

Daichi nearly drops the box he's holding, but manages to hold onto it again at the last moment. "He... he did?"

"Yeah, and I don't blame him. At his age you want to kick back and relax, not sit stranded in the middle of a horrible wilderness." The manager pulls a paper out of the folder he's holding, showing it to Daichi. "Done and dusted."

The signature isn't Suga's. It isn't his name at all. Before Daichi can make a bigger fool of himself, he realizes. Suga isn't the forest caretaker. Not the human one. Of course, he takes care of the spirits, he's the true caretaker. He might even be a spirit himself, if Daichi had thought to ask.

And with that signature, the demolition of the forest has a green light.

"Of course," the manager continues, oblivious to Daichi's inner turmoil, "the demolition will still be behind schedule because of those moronic tree-huggers."

Maybe more of a yellow light.

"Thank you sir, glad to be of help. Goodnight," Daichi babbles out, before quickly turning to leave.

Daichi goes to work for the next two weeks, and visits the forest on Sundays. He loves being with Suga, and the spirits. It terrifies him when he thinks of the demolition. But now that he doesn't work at the firm anymore, he doesn't know the date, when it's going to start. It feels like there's a dark storm looming on the horizon, the thunder rumbling like the engines of the demolition machines. But Daichi feels like he has plenty of time to figure out a solution.

He does not.

It is raining, just lightly, and Daichi is home alone when there is a knock on the apartment door. He wonders how whoever's at the door could have gotten past the locked door to the building, and goes to answer the door cautiously.

It's a kid, and the second Daichi opens the door, the kid grabs his arm and tries to make off with him. Daichi quickly yanks his arm back, stronger than the stranger. "Hey, hey! What's going on here?"

"Daichi, you have to come!" The kid looks at him imploringly, tugging on his arm again.

"What? How do you know my name?"

The kid has the audacity to look hurt, saying, "It's me, Yuu. Please, you gotta come with me, it's an emergency!"

Daichi lets out a gasp, finally recognizing the brown hair and blond tuft from the missing persons picture. "But... but you're not four? You're like a grown kid?"

"Hey! I'm not a kid, I'm almost an adult! Now, come on!" Yuu tugs forcefully at Daichi, putting all his weight behind the effort.

"Okay, okay," Daichi says, scrambling for his shoes and grabbing his keys.

He follows Yuu down the stairs, running as fast as they can, until they reach Daichi's bicycle. Yuu hops on behind him, an unsafe practice Daichi would not condone under any other circumstance, and they're off.

"What's going on then? Is somebody hurt?" Daichi calls back to Yuu.

Yuu squeezes his arms tighter around Daichi's waist before replying, "No... Suga said I shouldn't bother you, but there's strange men at the edge of the forest. They have big machines, and they've put signs and yellow ribbon to stop people from coming into the forest."

"Fuck, the demolition... I didn't think it would be so soon!"

"Can't you go any faster?" Yuu asks.

Daichi scowls. "It would be a lot faster if you were a squirrel again!"

Suddenly, Daichi can't feel Yuu behind him, and almost loses his balance on the bicycle. He's about to turn around to see if Yuu fell off, only to feel little paws scrabbling in his hair. Knowing Yuu can't reply as a squirrel, Daichi decides not to reprimand him for shapeshifting in public.

When Daichi gets to the edge of the forest, he sees the "yellow ribbon" Yuu was talking about, police tape, wrapped around the trees and blocking the path. Looking around for demolition men, Daichi sneaks under the tape, and bicycles further into the forest.

It's dark in the forest, like it's the middle of the night, and the rain beats down harder than it did outside the forest. Mud gums up Daichi's bicycle tires, and his scalp hurts a little from the tight grip Yuu has in his hair, but he forges on ahead. This time, he bicycles straight into the clearing. He doesn't remember veering off the main path, and there isn't a cabin in the clearing anymore, but he spots Suga's silver hair shining across the clearing.

Daichi's mind is racing. He hadn't even realized he's started to cry, the rain pelting down on his face disguising any tears, but he starts to feel the telltale sting of tears in his eyes. Flinging his bicycle down onto the forest floor, useless in the mud, he runs across the clearing.

"Suga!" he calls stumbling in the sticky mud. The forest is so dark, but Suga seems to glow through the gloom, the rain muting his light.

Suga turns to see Daichi, and he seems surprised, and then resigned. "Yuu, I told you to leave him. It's dangerous for him to be here. Daichi, you should leave."

"No! You can't stay here, Suga!" Daichi shouts over the pounding rain. "The forest is being demolished!"

"I know." He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "I thought I told you to call me Koushi."

Daichi can't think of anything else to say, falling to his knees in exhaustion. Slowly, the spirits emerge from the forest and stand around their caretaker. Little by little, they transform into humans, melting into the rain, as if Daichi's vision is fading, before refocusing on their human bodies. Their clothes are torn and muddy, from every era, suits and jeans, armour and robes. Every face is as solemn as Suga's. As _Koushi's_.

Yuu leaps off Daichi's head to stand with the others, transforming back into a human, huddled in an overlarge downy jacket, torn down one arm. Daichi had barely seen what he was wearing in their hurry to get here. Yuu looks close to tears, so unlike the others.

"Suga... I... Koushi, please..." Daichi manages, his cheeks hot with tears. "You can come stay with me! All of you, I'll find somewhere for you to stay, you can't just- ...you can't just go."

Koushi is silent, his face neutral, but with a lingering sadness in his eyes. Around him, the spirits of the forest watch Daichi, their expressions just as difficult to read. Daichi once again feels like they're not real, like they never really were real, and if Daichi tries to reach out and touch them, his hand will drift through their incorporeal bodies like they're made of smoke, intangible, and the next gust of wind will blow them away. As if he's been alone this whole time, crying on the forest floor, covered in dirt and rain, with not another creature around at all.

"They can't. This is their home," Koushi says, "and I have to stay with them. If we leave this place, we die."

One by one, the spirits begin to turn away from Daichi and disappear into the trees, until only the warriors, Yuu, and Koushi remain.

Tooru steps up to Daichi and places a firm hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, Sawamura. We all enjoyed your company. Especially Koushi. He gets so lonely sometimes."

With that, the warriors depart together, and Koushi turns too, only looking back at Yuu, still frozen in place. Finally, Yuu drops to his knees in front of Daichi and throws his arms around Daichi's neck, hugging him tightly.

"I'll miss you Daichi! So much," Yuu mumbles into Daichi's shoulder.

Yuu feels so real, so solid, and Daichi can't find his voice to tell Yuu that he'll miss him too.

Koushi eventually pulls Yuu away from Daichi, holding him by the hand, like a child. "You need to leave, Daichi. It isn't safe for you here."

They vanish into the trees, and Daichi is left alone.

He wants them to still be here. To have Yuu, solid and real in his arms. But he had to let him go.

He has to let them go.


	6. Epilogue: Sweet Sorrow

It's months later when a flyer for the new hotel and casino lands in Daichi's mailbox. He's about to toss it in the bin when his hand falters, and he realizes what it is. For months, Daichi had been trying his hardest not to think about the forest, or the spirits, anything. At first, he had thought to go by the site regularly, watch the trees being felled, as a sort of atonement for the hand he had played it the forest's destruction. But it had quickly become too much for him.

Although it had hardly been any better when he stopped going either. Still unemployed, and still miserable, Daichi has felt sluggish and hollow for months now. He feels as if his life is stagnant, and nothing he tries brings him enough joy to get back on track. Sketching only reminds him of the forest, of the spirits, and Koushi.

The flyer brings everything rushing back, and Daichi savagely tears the paper up, leaving it in pieces on the kitchen floor and retreating to his room. It is dark, the blinds drawn, and lonely, but Daichi feels it is a fitting punishment.

Another month passes before Daichi finds himself in the hotel itself. It's his mother's idea, and though she still doesn't know the full extent of what happened, she can tell how much the demolition of the forest hurt her son. She hopes going there and seeing the site will bring Daichi some closure. Although neither of them gamble, the hotel has a restaurant that's been getting good reviews, so Yuki books a table. The idea of going seems to upset Daichi, but he puts up surprisingly little protest. He has not been himself lately.

The food is good, but nothing lifts Daichi's spirits. He doesn't even feel sad, particularly, just... tired. Numb. Except for these horrible surges of hope, like he'll turn around and see Tooru and Hajime eating at a nearby table, or he'll look up and the waiter will be Koushi. He tries to quash any foolish ideas before he begins to feel too hopeful.

Eventually, Daichi needs a break from fake smiles and pretending to enjoy himself, so he excuses himself to find the bathroom. He doesn't really need to pretend, he's sure his mother can see right through him. When he gets to the bathroom, he splashes his face with water and stares at himself in the mirror. His reflection looks the same as it always has, but he feels like an entirely different person than he was when he was visiting the forest.

It hits him like a shock that the forest is gone, that he's standing where it was. The forest had seemed so solid, unmovable, ancient. And it had been, but now it's gone.

Daichi is returning from the bathrooms when he's suddenly pulled aside, into a dark side hall, leading to the casino. He grabs the hand that's latched onto his arm and looks into the face of the culprit with confusion. When he catches sight of the familiar round face and kind brown eyes, Daichi's mouth falls open in surprise, his own eyes widening to the point that they sting with tears.

"Koushi?"

A smile stretches across Koushi's face, and his eyelashes glisten with tears. "Daichi. I thought you were never going to show up!" He throws his arms around Daichi, burying his head into Daichi’s shoulder.

"Why... are you here? I mean... How? I thought..." Daichi stammers out, hesitantly wrapping his arms around Koushi’s waist to return the hug. He can feel the warmth of Koushi’s skin through the back of his shirt, and Daichi pulls him in closer, trying to reassure himself that Koushi is real and corporeal, solid and warm in his arms as they linger in the dingy casino hallway.

"I know," Koushi says, drawing back from the embrace, his smile fading to a regretful expression. "I didn't know if we would survive the destruction of the forest, so I didn't want to get your hopes up. In case we didn't survive... But it seems like the land has saved us again. I am sorry... I can see I've caused you great pain, by not being honest..." Koushi places his free hand over Daichi's heart, staring into his face with a sombre look in his eyes.

Daichi allows a small smile to creep across his face, something that has become somewhat foreign to him. He feels exhausted all of the sudden, emotionally, and physically, and he huffs out a deep sigh in relief. "You're here now," he says, taking Koushi's hand from over his heart and holding it between them. "Wait... You said 'we' and 'us'? Are they all here? Hajime and Tooru? Yuu, everyone?"

"Yes, we're all here. Hotel life suits us, I think. Did you know they have a pool? Tetsurou and Koutarou have already been banned from the casino," Koushi laughs. "Although I think the Forest had some unexpected effects on hotel life. The other day a man raised a fuss because he had spent two weeks here, when he had only booked two nights. Nobody had realized, all the staff could only remember him being here for two days..."

Daichi grins, feeling unconditionally happy. "Where do you guys stay? I suppose they can't be animals anymore... Or walk around in muddy torn outfits from fifty years ago."

"In empty rooms, or just... around. You'd be surprised how many humans don't really see us sometimes..."

"Are you saying that if someone walked by I'd look like I'm talking to myself?" Daichi asks, grimacing.

Koushi laughs, his whole face lighting up. "Of course not!” Koushi leans forward and presses his lips quickly against Daichi’s cheek. “I said sometimes, didn't I? Now, come on, everyone will want to see you!"

Still dazed from the kiss, Daichi follows Koushi wordlessly for a moment before stopping, remembering his mother is still sitting back in the restaurant.

"Ah, wait, I'm here with my mum," Daichi says, gesturing back towards the restaurant. "Actually, do you think I can tell my mum? About all you guys? She would _love_ to meet Tooru and Hajime. Like, words cannot express how thrilled she'd be."

"I don't see why not," Koushi says. "Go get her, I'll wait here."

Daichi pauses, not wanting to go, to let go of Koushi's hand, in case he disappears again. He looks down at their linked hand helplessly.

"Or... I can come with you." Koushi bends to meet Daichi's gaze.

Daichi looks up again, bashful at being caught out. "Yes please. I'd like it much better if you were with me."

Koushi smiles even wider, and Daichi leads him by the hand into the restaurant. His hand is firm and warm in Daichi’s.

Daichi still feels a pang of regret that the forest is gone, but knowing that the all the spirits are here, somewhere around the building, already makes Daichi feel a sense of belonging too. Across the hotel restaurant, at the bar, Daichi finally spots Tooru and Hajime, drinking together. He hadn't recognized them at first, dressed in glamorous modern clothes. Yuu sits on the barstool between them, looking quite put out to be drinking straight orange juice. Daichi looks down at Koushi’s hand in his, then raises his eyes to meet Koushi’s gaze, soft and curious. Koushi smiles brightly at him, and squeezes his hand.

Yes, Daichi thinks with a smile, this is where he belongs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
